P0403: Exhaust gas recirculation control circuit

What the code tells you on its own

• System. Powertrain. Engine, fuel, air, ignition, emissions and transmission. The overwhelming majority of what workshops bring to the AI.
• Functional group. EGR
• Subsystem. Auxiliary emission controls

What we see when P0403 turns up

Measured across the diagnostics run through Wrenchlane by independent workshops, not taken from a reference table. Sightings span April 2026 to June 2026.

• 6 diagnostics carried this code.
• 4 separate workshops met it, so this is not one shop seeing the same fault repeatedly.
• 17% of the time it arrived with no symptom description at all, meaning the technician had nothing but the code to work from.
• Most often on Volkswagen, which is where we have seen it most rather than a claim about the fleet at large.

What P0403 usually turns up with

The multiplier is how much more often the two appear together than chance would predict, so a high number means the pair is telling you something a single code is not. Codes rarely arrive alone, and reading the set is usually faster than chasing the first one on the list.

• P1258, manufacturer-specific, meaning depends on the marque. Seen together 3 times, 255x more often than chance.
• P1690, manufacturer-specific, meaning depends on the marque. Seen together 3 times, 255x more often than chance.
• P1925, manufacturer-specific, meaning depends on the marque. Seen together 3 times, 255x more often than chance.
• P1937, manufacturer-specific, meaning depends on the marque. Seen together 3 times, 255x more often than chance.
• P3100, manufacturer-specific, meaning depends on the marque. Seen together 3 times, 255x more often than chance.
• P0243, Turbocharger wastegate solenoid A. Seen together 3 times, 191.3x more often than chance.

What this page does not tell you

A code names a symptom the car noticed, not the part that failed. P0403 on one vehicle and the same code on another can have different causes, and the counts above describe what independent workshops brought to us rather than how common the fault is across all cars. Getting from the code to the cause needs the vehicle: its make, model, engine and what it is actually doing.

Run P0403 against the car in front of you. Enter the code and the symptoms and get ranked probable causes for that specific vehicle, with the checks in the order worth doing them. Free account, no card.

Other egr codes

• P0400, Exhaust gas recirculation flow
• P0401, Exhaust gas recirculation flow insufficient
• P0402, Exhaust gas recirculation flow excessive
• P0404, Exhaust gas recirculation control circuit range/performance
• P0407, Exhaust gas recirculation sensor B circuit low
• P0409, Exhaust gas recirculation sensor A circuit